The Unwinding
by CJ Wellington
Summary: Five Years have passed since the Battle of Hogwarts and a rumor of a Dark Uprising has surfaced. A new task force has been put together, one that Hermione finds herself a part of. Along side her is Harry, Ron, and to her worst delight, Draco Malfoy. With her separation from Ron still fresh, Hermione finds herself torn between loyalty and love.
1. Chapter 1

The Unwinding

CJ Wellington

 **Chapter One**

The lights were off when Hermione arrived at the small two-story flat she called home. Crossing the entry way, Hermione walked into the small single-window study. She shrugged off her jacket and scarf, laid them both over the back of the corner leather chair and turned on the standing reading lamp next to it. The room was engulfed in a soft yellow glow from the copper-coated lamp shade. "I should go to bed." Hermione mumbled to herself as she stepped behind the desk and settled into the worn, high-backed chair that used to belong to her father. It was a quarter to eleven and she had been up in _business mode_ since before five that morning. But Ron had been gone visiting his brothers for the last few days, so if she was going to make any reasonable progress on her ever-growing pile of paper work she might as well do it then, while he was not around to distract her.

Hermione conjured herself a mug of coffee, braided her curls away from her face, and withdrew the first envelope out of her shoulder bag. The Ministry had just passed a law on the Mistreatment of Magical House Creatures and currently it was her job to shift through tickets to determine which offenders needed to be brought in on further charges or marked down for a misdemeanor. Accidently locking a House Elf in a closet for a few hours was a small incident in comparison to having ones magic bound so that they cannot protect themselves from their owners.

An hour into her paperwork, Hermione rose and decided that her judgement would be better in the day light. Her coffee had done nothing to reenergize her and consequently she had just startled herself awake after dozing off and almost smacking her forehead on the desk. Waving her wand, her paperwork flew neatly back into her bag and the empty coffee mug disappeared from sight – leaving only a clear, polished wood desk behind. She yawned loudly as she left the study and climbed the stairs to the second floor where she and Ron slept. Or lately, where she slept.

The room illuminated as she entered, a carefully organized bedroom greeting her. The queen sized bed to her left was neatly made with dark sapphire bedding, the nightstand was clutter free except for a small lamp and her beloved Hogwarts: A History, to her right two doors were closed as she left them every morning – one leading to the bathroom, the other to a closet that now housed more of her clothes than Ron's. She knew every time he went home to visit his family he secretly took another load of clothes that he didn't intend on returning. "You are being ridiculous." Hermione spoke out loud as she stared at the door that lead to the closet. "It really shouldn't be a surprise to anyone." She shook her head of the sad thoughts and dressed for bed – her alarm would be waking her sooner than she liked it to.

#

With only four hours of sleep, Hermione was showered, dressed, and on her way back to the Ministry for another long day of shifting through tickets. When she pushed through the doors of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Hermione was met by a crowd huddled around the latest edition of _The Daily Prophet_. "What do we have here today?" Hermione asked as she drew nearer to the crowd. Seamus, who was now an Auror, turned and greeted her with a small smile. "Another attack it seems, in the States this time. The muggle papers are calling it a wild animal incident but the Prophet is insinuating that the attack was done by werewolves, maybe those who used to run with Greyback."

"Greyback? I haven't heard that name in quite a while – wasn't he killed during the Battle of Hogwarts?" Hermione unbuttoned her jacket as she spoke of the werewolf who had sired the late Remus Lupin.

"His pack scatted after his death and have been relatively quiet for the past few years. It is odd that they should choose to now start wreaking havoc – and over in the States too, blimey. I really don't want to be the person who has to travel over there to meet with the US Wizarding Consulate."

"Actually, it shouldn't be odd that they would choose now to resurface. Next spring will be the five year anniversary of the Battle of Hogwarts and we already know that there has been whispers of a Dark Rebellion. Greyback's pack sided with the Death Eaters during the battle, so it wouldn't be farfetched to think that they were gearing up for battle again. Were there any casualties during the attack in the States?"

Seamus shook his head. "No, but numerous were bitten – we will know soon if they have been turned. It will be a full moon in two weeks."

"Right, well unfortunately this is not my area of focus at the moment, so I will leave it to you Aurors and I better head off to my cave of paper work before Lathrop sees me out here chit chatting." Hermione inwardly groaned when she dropped the name of the current Department Head – Bartholomew Lathrop was decent fellow, and Hermione usually got her way when working with him, but he was a big stickler for 'chit chat' in the workplace.

"I should do the same. Tell Ron hello for me, you two should come over again for dinner, Lydia would love to talk with you more about your family; she is fascinated by muggles."

Hermione gave Seamus a tight smile and said that she would relay the message to Ron when she saw him. After bidding the rest of the Aurors goodbye, Hermione moved towards the back of the wing and into her corner office. She had the perfect view of the Thames – even if it was bewitched to look that way. For four years she had worked in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and getting her law passed that protected magical house creatures had earned her the special office space. It also earned her more responsibilities and time spent in the office. That was another topic of discussion that always led into an argument between her and Ron. Not that he wasn't busy with his Auror dealings but rarely did he have to spend outside hours working on cases. Hermione suspected too that the fact that she was gaining more attention than him when he was doing more field work than her was beginning to irritate him. "Well he just needs to shove off." Hermione growled. She roughly pulled the paperwork out of her bag and slammed it on her desk, sending a few stray sheets flying across her room. "Dammit."

"A little irritated this morning, Hermione?"

Hermione looked up to find Harry standing in her door way. "Just running low on tolerance for idiocrasy."

"Ron?" Harry asked, but his eyes gave away that he knew the answer.

"We got into another argument, before he left to go visit George for the weekend." Hermione huffed and sat down, resting her chin on the palms of her hand.

"Let me guess, you are spending too much time at the office and not enough time at home with him?"

"Yes."

"Well, if it makes you feel better, all of us will be spending more time at the office in the coming months."

Hermione looked up and pushed back into her chair. "You read the Prophet too?"

Harry nodded. "This is the second 'wild animal' attack in three months, and Ron told you about the letter we intercepted at the border between England and Ireland."

"Someone was sending out a recruitment but you couldn't decipher the location or the reason for it. Parts of the letter were written in a language you weren't familiar with. Ron told me a bit of it a few weeks ago but hasn't spoken of it since."

Harry crossed the office and sat down in one of the leather chairs. "We were finally able to decipher the language – the words were recorded onto the page. As in, the paper spoke to you; sort of like a howler but not quite so aggressive. They had to speak the printed sentence in Latin in order to trigger that actual message."

"Latin? Who knows Latin in modern day conversation?"

"The Dark Rebellion has been using bits of it intermixed with standard English when they send messages out, thinking that since it is a dead language no one will be able to understand what they are saying, or doing. They have also been communicating via riddles, I hate riddles."

Hermione laughed. "I wish I was doing that, instead of this." She pointed to the pile of papers that were not so neatly scattered across her desk.

"That is actually what I came to talk to you back. Lathrop is putting together a new task force to focus on the Dark Rebellion. Since you have knowledge in dark magic and fought in the Battle of Hogwarts, he has asked me to ask you if you would like to join." Harry crossed his arms and relaxed into the leather chair.

"Does Ron know that I have been asked to join the task force?"

"He was the one who suggested it."

Hermione was taken aback. "Why in Merlin would he suggest me to be on the task force? He practically rejoiced when I told him I was going the political route instead of the Auror route like you two."

Harry shrugged his arms. "It is beyond me why Ron does what he does but he suggested you; said that you would be a great asset to the team."

"Well, if Ron is on board with me joining the team then I am good with it as well. Merlin knows that I am tired of looking over tickets and would rather be doing something else with my time." A wide smile crossed Hermione's face. "I thought when I joined the this portion of the department it would be more action-oriented – like I would be in and out of the court rooms and out on the streets helping people. Not stuck in my office till all hours of the night shifting through complaints and tickets. Even tracking down underage wizards doing magic would be more interesting than this. After my law passed it was like everything came to a halt and I was pushed aside – my brain not needed any longer."

"Your brain is definitely needed here, Hermione. And who knows, maybe after we squash these people who are trying to bring back the days of Voldemort we can come back and be at a higher level than we are now. No more paper work for you and no more answering house calls for me." Harry brushed his hands across his jeans and rose from the chair. "When is Ron returning from George's? Ginny said George had a wild weekend planned for them."

Hermione shrugged her shoulders. "Hell if I know. Ron rarely tells me what he is doing anymore, not that I am around much to notice when he is home."

Harry's eyes softened as he stared at his longtime friend. "Things haven't gotten any easier have they?"

"No." Hermione's voice dropped to a whisper. "If anything, things have gotten worse – we've grown more distant."

Almost a year ago Hermione had come to Harry with her doubts and concerns about the future of her and Ron. She had watched how Harry and Ginny had grown closer after the Battle of Hogwarts while she and Ron just seemed to drift apart. She hoped moving in with one another would help combat the drifting but it only spotlighted how often they weren't in the same room together. When Harry and Ginny got engaged a few months ago, things went from bad to worse. Everyone had thought Ron would propose to Hermione before Harry to Ginny but Ron didn't seem interested in moving forward after they had made the jump to living with one another. Ron argued that a piece of paper wouldn't change anything. Hermione disagreed.

"You do know that if you choose to leave Ron, you will still be one of my very best friends. Maybe it is best that you two separate for a while. Honestly, it might make both of you happier – go back to the way it was before. You haven't been happy for a very long time, have you Hermione?"

Tears bubbled up in the corners of her eyes and her chest heaved. Moving swiftly, Hermione rose, skirted around her desk, and threw her arms around Harry's neck – burying her face his in shoulder. Hearing his support for her happiness caused some of the stress to lift from her shoulders. She hadn't realized how much she had needed to hear that from him. It was true that she was terrified that Harry would side with Ron if she decided to walk away from the relationship. The thought had crossed her mind more than once.

When her tears subsided, Hermione withdrew from Harry's embrace. She wiped away the streaks with the back of her hand and smoothed out her blouse. "I needed to hear that, thank you Harry."

"You are my family Hermione, you not being with Ron anymore won't change that." Harry took a deep breath and shoved his hands in his slacks.

"What about the task force…will it make things awkward if we aren't together anymore?"

"If Ron wants to make it awkward then I will speak to him. We are adults now, we can handle situations such as these."

Hermione nodded. "Right."

"Besides, Ron will be too busy griping about having to work with Malfoy than the fact that your relationship is fizzling out – no offense."

"You don't mean Draco Malfoy, do you?" Hermione leaned back against her desk.

"Unfortunately, Yes. Lathrop has been working with him to gain more information about the Dark Rebellion since Malfoy still has some ties with the Death Eaters and other followers of Voldemort. He claims to have renounced his own believes in Voldemort and is fully committed to the Ministry but he is still a snake in my eyes." A frown crossed Harry's face as he spoke of their old classmate. Hermione had heard that after the Battle of Hogwarts, Draco and his family laid low but his name had resurfaced about two years back placing him in France where he joined the Ministry of Magic there as an Auror.

"I hadn't realized that he was even back in England." It made Hermione nervous to have someone join their task force that they had a dark history with. He had been in the room that night Bellatrix had scarred her. He saw the pain she had been in and did nothing to stop his Aunt. Hermione shook her head of the memory but rubbed her arm where the letters had now faded to white lines, almost gone but not quite yet.

"Lathrop said he put in a transfer about six months ago, his mother got sick and he wanted to be closer to her during her treatments. Haven't heard any news on his father though. The jury's still out on his location – I'm sure he will stay in hiding until he dies in a hole somewhere."

"Harry!"

"He is a terrible person Hermione, you know that. If Voldemort was still around Malfoy would be just as bad as his father but I'd rather work with him than Lucius. I take back what I said earlier, he isn't snake. He could have killed Dumbledore like he was ordered to but he didn't."

"Alright, alright. If anyone has cause to hate him; that would be the muggle born in the room."

"Technically, I was raised by muggles so I could be called that as well."

Hermione leaned forward and swatted at him. "Shut up Potter, don't you have house calls to make? There aren't any drunk wizards that you need to go arrest for spouting off magic out in public?"

"Not yet, but I am sure there will be a telephone call soon. Let me know how it goes with Ron."

"Will do."

Harry leaned in and gave Hermione a kiss on the cheek before turning on his heel and leaving the office. And having not been officially released from her paperwork hell, Hermione returned to her desk and settled in for another long afternoon; a hard evening waiting for her when she returned home to face the man she used to be in love with.

-CJW


	2. Chapter 2

The Unwinding

CJ Wellington

 **Chapter Two**

Ron was home when Hermione arrived at a quarter to eight that night. She had gotten off work around five but had sidestepped into a pub for some liquid courage before walking around until she could avoid going home no longer. Hermione found the red head was sitting in the living room watching the television. "How's your brother?" Hermione gave him a quick kiss, which he returned while keeping his eyes focused on the TV.

"Good, George's shop is booming – he is thinking of opening another shop and wanted to have me going in with him as a partner."

"Really? That would be wonderful, but do you have time to become a partner in a joke shop with George? I mean, with everything that is going on at the Ministry right now."

"It's not really like you would notice my absence since you are never here either." Hermione smacked her hands down on the kitchen counter. The noise startled Ron and he turned to look across the room at her. "What was that for?"

"It is the same comment every time. I am always too busy to notice that you are busy as well. How ridiculous does that sound?"

Ron rose from the couch and met her in the kitchen, keeping the counter between them. "It's true, Hermione, you are much too busy. And I said that George wanted me to join him, I never said that I took him up on the partnership offer. I know that things are picking up at the Ministry with new this Dark Rebellion nonsense."

"If I'm so busy why did you offer me up to join the task force?"

"Because…I thought that if we were on the same team again, like before, I would actually get to spend more than twenty minutes with you!"

Hermione stepped back away from the counter. Ron's voice was loud and full of emotion, more so than she had expected. She hadn't planned that his reason for putting her on the task force was to see her more. How could she walk away now? Hermione turned away from Ron. She walked over to the fridge, withdrew a bottle of white wine and then took a glass off the shelf before returning to where Ron still stood – carefully watching her with his dark eyes.

As she poured herself a glass of wine, Hermione took a deep breath and tried to calm her racing heart. This was not the direction she had planned the conversation would go. Yelling, she planned, slamming doors, she expected, words that would be regretted in the morning, she counted on. Learning that having her on the task for was Ron's attempt to spend more time with her, hadn't even crossed her mind. Hermione brought the glass up to her lips and let her eyes travel up Ron.

He was dressed faded jeans with a blue and black plaid shirt. His auburn hair had grown down over his ears and around his jaw line was the shadow of a beard that needed to be trimmed. He looked older, standing on the other side of the counter with his hands shoved in his back pockets. Instantly, Hermione felt the weight of what she was about to do. The stress that Harry had lifted earlier was back, doubled, and now closing in around her. She and Ron had been together for so long and had been with each other for so many things – how could she walk away from him now?

 _He isn't the same Ron that you fell in love with_. Hermione's heart broke at the realization. The Ron before the Battle, the Ron before the loss of his brother; that was the Ron she had been in love with, not the one that stood before her now. But to be fair, she wasn't the same person either. The Battle of Hogwarts changed them both, it just took her longer to realize that. "Ron…" Hermione started but then found that she couldn't find the words.

"You're leaving aren't you?"

"Why would you say that?" Hermione took a large sip of wine before meeting Ron's eyes again.

"I'm not that daft, Hermione, and I know that you know that I have been moving some of my things home."

Hermione took another sip of wine. "You're not that sneaky."

Ron gave a side smile and shook his head. "This isn't going to work anymore, is it?"

"Did you really sign me up for the task force because you wanted to spend more time with me?"

"Yes…and no." Ron let out a sigh and pulled his fingers through his curls. "I miss hanging out with you. Not like we do now where we sit next to each other and watch a movie or when we go out to dinner for a date – those are nice but I miss sitting in the dorm room and laughing by the fire. I miss you criticizing my moves when I played Harry in wizard's chess."

"Ron, we aren't in school anymore. We aren't those children anymore."

"I guess that's what I thought we would go back to after the Battle of Hogwarts. I didn't expect this." Ron gestured around the room, "That we would move so quickly into our adult lives and forget what we used to be like. You work all the damn time and I thought I could handle that, I used to admire your determinations and the work you put into what you did. But now I am just jealous of Lathrop who sees you more than I do. I don't want to live like that. You are brilliant Hermione, that is why I suggested you for the task force, and the selfish part of me was hoping that it will be more like how we were before the war."

"It could be…" Hermione trailed off.

Ron shook his head. "I didn't even look at you when you kissed me moments ago. You should have had my full attention the moment you walked through that door but you didn't."

Hermione finished off her glass of wine and moved to refill when Ron stepped around the counter and took the bottle from her hand. "I have never seen you drink a glass of wine that fast, Hermione."

"I don't know how to have this conversation sober." Hermione sucked in a sharp breath and felt her chest tighten. Her eyes burned and she knew she was moments away from crumbling in a mess of tears.

"I know we love one another, but I don't think we are IN love with one another – not anymore." A sad smile flitted across Ron's face before his leaned down and kissed her forehead.

"I feel like we are letting everyone down." A sob escaped Hermione's lips as Ron kissed her forehead. "How are you so damn calm?"

"It would be uncool for me to cry and steal your thunder." Ron teased.

Hermione smacked him lightly in the arm. "Still just as cheeky." She wiped her tears with the back of her hand. "What do we do now?"

"I don't have much left to pack, I'll go do that now and then go to Harry's."

"I don't know if I can say goodbye."

"You'll see me at work tomorrow."

"It won't be the same."

"It hasn't been the same in a very long time, maybe now we can get back to who we used to be. Who knows, maybe we can be _us_ again but I think time apart will be good, for the both of us." Ron stepped away from Hermione and left the kitchen. She listened as his footsteps traveled up the stairs, down the hall, and into the bedroom. Hermione wanted to follow him, take it all back and try to work it out. But Hermione knew deep down, that Ron was right.

 _Cheeky bastard_. Hermione thought to herself.

When Ron returned to the main floor, Hermione had finished off another glass of wine and was letting the alcohol numb her breaking heart. She couldn't tell though if it was breaking because Ron was leaving or that the relationship was over. They were supposed to be the couple that made it. They were the couple that started out hating one another and then grew to love one another. And now they were nothing, they were a failure. More tears bubbled up when Ron walked into the kitchen carrying two suitcases. The red circles around his eyes told Hermione that it wasn't just packing that he had been doing upstairs.

"I'll see you tomorrow, 'Mione." Ron gave her a small smile, walked into the living room and drew on his jacket that had been tossed across the leg rest. After one last look at Hermione, standing in the kitchen holding an empty glass, he blinked and was gone.

#

Hermione finished the bottle of wine and then made her way up the stairs to the bedroom. It hadn't been the first time she had gone to bed alone but tonight it felt different. She changed out of her work clothes, went into the closet to grab one of Ron's shirts to sleep in and froze. Her hand shot out to the door frame catch herself as she stared at the empty hangers that now lined half the closet. There were no shoes scattered across the floor, no hats piled up on the shelf, there was nothing left that belonged to Ron. Hermione felt her body slide down the door frame and collapsed into herself. She pulled her knees up to her chest and rested her forehead as tears slipped down her face.

"How do I do this without him?" Hermione whispered out loud. This type of alone was something she had never experienced before. She had been with Ron for so long that she didn't know how to be just her. She had been in this empty house many times before, but it was different know that Ron wasn't coming home again.

When her sobs turned into hiccups, Hermione peeled herself off the floor and walked over to the bed. For the first time in a very long time Hermione climbed under the sheets knowing that when she woke up, she would go to work as single woman. Ron would come in as a single man and they would have to go about their jobs knowing that they would not be going home together. Hermione pulled the covers up to her chin and pulled a pillow over her face. It smelled of cinnamon, it smelled like Ron.

"Dammit." Hermione mumbled. She kicked off the covers and stripped the bed, throwing everything in the closet and closing the door. Dressed in only her underwear, Hermione grabbed a blanket from the hallway closet, a spare pillow, and walked down to the living room. Settling in on the couch for a long, sleepless night.

-CJW


	3. Chapter 3

The Unwinding

CJ Wellington

 **Chapter Three**

At work the next morning, Hermione was greeted by Lathrop the moment she stepped into the department. "Good morning Director Lathrop, how may I help you this early in the morning."

Director Bartholomew Lathrop was a tall man with a jet black hair and a long beard. His narrow frame and slightly slanted eyes reminded Hermione of Jafar from Aladdin; but with a more pleasant personality. "Good morning Ms. Granger, I wanted to catch you before you got to your office."

"Why…is there something wrong with my office?"

"No, no, nothing has been done to your office. But I have had your files moved out and over to a different department so the room should be much less cluttered than when you left it last night. Mr. Potter informed me that you have agreed to come on the task force and we will be having our first meeting in the conference room in about an hour. We are still waiting for a few more people to arrive and then we will debrief and step up a plan."

Hermione nodded. "Sounds wonderful. I am going to pour myself a mug of coffee and then I will wait to be called for the meeting." Her head hurt from the bottle of wine she drank and coffee would help clear her thoughts. She watched Lathrop walk towards a small gathering of Aurors before dropping her bag off in her office and heading towards the lounge.

The moment she stepped through the door she regretted it. Sitting at one of the tables, reading _The Daily Prophet_ and drinking his own mug of coffee, was Draco Malfoy. She hadn't seen him since the Battle of Hogwarts and it surprised her how much older he looked. No longer was he a scrawny, blonde haired boy from Slytherin. He sat before her dressed in dark slacks and a deep purple button up shirt that was rolled up to his elbows. Matching purple socks peeked out between the bottom of his pants and the top his grey suede shoes. His blonde hair was longer than it was when they were at school but instead of slicked back he wore it loose so that it hung down and framed his face as he read the prophet. Hermione was about to turn around and go to a lounge on a different floor when Draco spoke.

"Good morning Granger, how are you today? You look like you had a rough night, need some coffee?"

He may look different but he still sounded like a prick. "Thanks for the compliment Malfoy and yes I will take some coffee."

"Just took the last cup, you'll have to brew a new pot. Should take about ten minutes."

Hermione narrowed her eyes at him and walked over to the counter where the coffee machine sat. The pot was empty. "Don't you know that if you take the last cup you are supposed to start brewing another pot for the next person?"

"I apologize, I will remember that for the next person." Draco threw back the rest of his coffee, close his paper, and left the lounge – not evening glancing back at Hermione who glared at him the entry time.

But no sooner had he walked out, Ron walked in. "Are you kidding me, I just can't catch a break this morning." Hermione swore under her breath and straightened out her posture as Ron walked up to her.

"Morning, 'Mione. Sleep well last night?"

His casual formality was unnerving to Hermione. She raised an eye brown and crossed her arms. "After I finished my bottle of wine, I slept like a baby." Hermione lied. She got only about two hours of sleep before giving up and watching TV until her alarm clock went off upstairs.

"I'm glad, we've got a busy day today as Lathrop has informed me. I am not too amused about Malfoy being on this task force though. I could do without seeing that slimy git every day."

"Well, we can both agree on that. He was just in here, before you arrived. Still a prick."

"Right, well I need to find Harry. See you in the meeting." Ron nodded and disappeared back through the door.

 _Could that have been any more awkward?_ Hermione thought to herself. She had no idea how she was going to be a productive member of the task force when she didn't even know where she stood with Ron. There was no way his show of calm temperament was true. She knew him well enough to know that he probably drowned his sorrows in Fire Whiskey the moment he arrived at Harry's flat. The fact that he had been more reasonable than her last night was odd enough in its self. Hermione sighed, abandoned her attempt to get coffee, and retreated back to her office to get her wits together.

#

The meeting started promptly at seven thirty. Hermione followed quietly behind the crowd of Aurors and took a seat at the back of the conference room. She watched Harry enter the room, give her a nod, and then take a seat towards the front. Seamus walked in next, taking a seat in the middle with Dean Thomas, and then lastly Ron – who stood in the doorway a moment, glancing between Hermione and Harry before casting his eyes to the floor and taking the empty seat next to his best mate.

Hermione felt the air pull from the room as Ron settled into his seat next to Harry. She wanted to run over to them, tell Ron that it was all a mistake, that she was wrong but she knew it was neither the time nor the place and if she was being honest, her words would have been a lie.

Lost in her thoughts, Hermione was startled when someone sat next to her. "Well this is an interesting situation – the Golden Trio seems to be divided. Although I figured it would be Potter and Weasley hiding out in the back of the classroom, not you Granger." Draco leaned back in his seat and his hands behind his head.

"There are plenty of other seats in this room, Malfoy, why are you sitting next to me?"

"A better view."

"Of what?"

"Everything." A smug expression flitted across his face. "Besides, I know none of them want to sit next me either." He referenced towards Seamus and Dean who were casting glares in their direction.

Hermione groaned. Maybe she was still dreaming, or still drunk. "Please go away, Malfoy. Today is not the day to continue the terrorizing of your favorite muggle born."

"Who said you were my favorite." Draco sneered but he didn't change his seat.

Hermione glared at him but before she could make another comment, Lathrop entered into the room and silence consumed everyone.

"Good morning, everyone." Lathrop addressed the room and stood behind a table covered with stapled documents. "I have called you all here this morning to discuss an important matter that I had hoped to chalk up to petty rumors but unfortunately have found to be true. We are facing an uprising involving those who have continued to follow the late Lord Voldemort and still believe in his ideals about our Wizarding World. It is unfortunate that we have been unable to bury the past and more forward but I believe this group of individuals has what it takes to make sure that this _Dark Uprising_ does not officially take us back to the past."

"I have hand selected each and every one of you based upon need and your specific talents that you can bring to this task force. I would first like to introduce, or reintroduce would be a better word for it, Mr. Draco Malfoy – returning to us from our Paris branch of the Ministry of Magic. He will serve as our eyes and ears to those who still claim loyalty to the late Dark Lord."

"And how do we know that what Malfoy says is true. He does bare the Dark Mark." Ron interrupted.

The crowd of Aurors shifted their attention from the Director to the back of the room where Draco sat with his arms crossed and appearing bored at the introduction. Hermione shifted away from Draco but watched closely as steel eyes slid up and stared down the red head a few rows in front of him. "I guess you will just have to trust me, won't you Weasley." His voice was flat and emotionless.

"Mr. Malfoy has already provided us with valuable information about locations of Greyback Loyalists and we have already sent High Ranking Aurors to those locations." Said Lathrop.

"And did those leads pan out?" Dean inquired.

"They did. I received word this morning that they took down two small packs of loyalists and will be bringing them in for interrogation this afternoon."

"See Weasley." Draco smirked at Ron.

Hermione could feel the tension rising. In the past it had always been her to calm down Ron when it came to Draco's bantering. She felt a tug on her heart as she watched Harry rest his hand on Ron's shoulder and whisper into his ear. Already she had been replaced. _Stop._ Hermione scolded herself. Harry wasn't replacing her, he was just doing what he had always done. Taking care of Ron when Hermione could not.

"Granger." Draco snapped his fingers in front of Hermione's voice.

Hermione smack his hand out of her vision. "What Malfoy."

"Director Lathrop asked you a question."

Hermione had gotten lost in her thoughts again and missed a question. "Sorry, Director, can you repeat the question?"

"I am going to group you with Draco, Ron, and Harry. Is that okay?" Lathrop was placing everyone in teams. Hermione's eyes looked over to a floating list of names and realized that hers was the only one not placed in a group already. Must be because she was a late addition to the group, pulled in only after Ron's suggestion. That made her group the only one with four members and only one person in the group actually liked her at the moment. Hermione locked eyes with Harry, who gave her a weak smile.

"That is fine Director Lathrop, I trust your decision." Hermione answered.

"Wonderful. I will meet with each group separately throughout this week and we will plan on meeting together again as an entire group in two weeks. Until then, please continue about your normal business until you are given your assignment. You are all dismissed."

#

Hermione rose from her seat and quickly exited the room, avoiding the eyes of everyone as she walked towards her office and closed the door behind her. It had only been a twenty minute meeting but being in the same room with Ron and not being able to sit next to him made the meeting feel like an eternity. She knew it would be hard, starting over from scratch, and Harry had said that he wouldn't choose Ron over her but sitting in the back of the conference room while they sat up front, didn't give her a lot of hope that things would go back to normal.

 _It's like our first year all over again_. Hermione thought to herself. Harry and Ron the duo and Hermione still on the outskirts. _Where is a Troll when you need one?_

There was a knock at her office door. Hermione looked up as Harry entered. "I didn't get the chance to talk to you before the meeting this morning. How are you doing?"

"Oh just wonderful." Said Hermione with false enthusiasm. "I ended a relationship with a person whom I loved very dearly, I am now grouped with said ex-person to tackle a potential uprising, and to just add the icing on the cake – my worst enemy has returned to make my life even more a living hell and I still have yet to have a single cup of coffee this morning."

"Would you like me to bring you a cup of coffee, Hermione?"

Hermione glared across her desk at her friend. "No thank you."

Harry sighed and sat down in the chair across from her. "If it helps at all, Ron was a complete mess last evening so you aren't the only person who is struggling with a new situation. But I was surprised by his honest evaluation of it. There has been a least a small bit of maturation from him since schooling."

"It was terrible in the meeting, watching the two of you up front while I was stuck in the back with Malfoy."

"It will get better Hermione. I promise. Next meeting I will sit next you, okay?"

"How in the world are the four of us going to get along long enough to be a successful task force team?"

Harry let out a low whistle as he ran his fingers through the mop of raven hair – unkempt as always and now grown down over his ears. He pushed his glasses back up the crook of his nose and shrugged his shoulders. "Hell if I know. How about I agree to hold back Ron and you tackle Malfoy."

"Absolutely not. If Malfoy deserves to get knocked off his block than I am not going to keep that from happening." Hermione pushed back from her desk and rose. "Malfoy is still a git, even if he claims to have changed his ways. Even if a few of his leads have led to arrests, that doesn't tell us how he is going to behave when we actually come face to face with those who are Voldemort loyalists. He still bares the Dark Mark."

"That I do Granger." Draco's voice cut across the office. Hermione froze. Harry rose from his seat and rounded on Draco. "I do still bare that ugly mark on my arm but only to remind me of the person that I don't want to become. Sometimes scars can be a reminder of the past so that we don't repeat it in the future. I'm sure you can relate, Granger."

It took every Hermione had to not grab her arm and cover the word etched into her skin, even though her blouse covered it enough. "It is rude to eavesdrop on other people's conversations."

"As it is rude to talk about people when they are not present to defend themselves." Draco countered. He leaned against the door frame and crossed his arms.

"Is there something that you needed, Malfoy?" Harry intervened.

"I was sent to gather our group, Director Lathrop wants to debrief us first so that we may begin our first assignment."

"Wonderful. I will get Ron and we can meet in the conference room." Harry gave a nod towards Hermione and then pushed past Draco.

"Such a delightful person Potter still is." Draco pushed off the door frame and spun on his heel after Harry.

Alone once again in her office, Hermione grabbed a bewitched quill and parchment before following in suit – trying her hardest to remember the spell Mad Eye had used to turn Malfoy into a ferret and at the same time wondering how much trouble she would be in if she by chance made that part of history repeat itself.

-CJW


	4. Chapter 4

The Unwinding

CJ Wellington

 **Chapter Four**

Draco settled into one of the four chairs placed before the paper covered table, Harry sat next to him, followed Ron and then Hermione. Director Lathrop was informing the Golden Trio of the information that Draco had provided so in turn Draco had turned out the conversation and instead focused on the window behind Lathrop that gave view to the business of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. He had been back in England for a few months now but still missed the quiet atmosphere that the Paris Branch of the Ministry had held. The London office was utter chaos in comparison; too many people crammed into a small amount of space. In Paris, each department had an entire floor to itself with spacious offices and open common areas. Here, there were multiple departments on one floor, dwarf sized offices, and door-less cubicles scattered across the common area – everyone working on top of one another. It was a wonder anything got accomplished in London.

"Mr. Malfoy will continue to remain in contact with his former Death Eater companions and feed us information. In return, the Ministry had agreed to stop their pursuit of his father, Lucius Malfoy, and let him live out the rest of his days hidden from the public eye." Director Lathrop spoke and turned his attention to Draco.

"My family is grateful for the Ministries leniency. My father is not mentally well and it would not serve to place him in Azkaban with the state that he is in." Draco sat a little higher in his chair. He knew the slander that was spoken of his father and he knew the crimes that he had committed, against the very people he sat next to, but he would be damned if he let his father rot in Azkaban. His father was ill, still wrapped up in the delusion that Voldemort had assassins out to get him after he walked away from the Battle of Hogwarts. Throwing him in the mist of other Death Eaters who actually fought for the Dark Lord's would be the same as executing him himself, and his mother would never forgive him for that.

"So Malfoy's information buys his father his freedom? He practically handed Harry over to Voldemort during the Battle of Hogwarts. His was Voldemort's right hand man, he should face punishment for his crimes." Argued Ron.

"Believe me Weasley, my father is paying for his crimes and will continue to pay until he dies. Just because it is not in the format that you see fit it does not mean that nothing is being done." Draco countered.

"This is ridiculous." Ron threw his hands into the air and made a move to stand up. Harry took his arm and pulled him back down into the chair.

"Stop Ron, you are not making the situation any better. If Hermione and I can put aside our differences for the greater good, so can you."

"Listen to Potter, Weasley, he is much smarter than you."

"Enough." Director Lathrop interjected. "I put the four of you together because EACH of you brings something important to the table. You are my Lead Task Force and I will be relying on you to work together, even if it means you have to pretend to like one another."

Draco slid his eyes back over to the window, ignoring Ron who could have had steam coming out of his ears if it was humanly possible. "What is our first task, Director Lathrop?"

"I need the four of you to be on a plane by the end of week. I have scheduled a conference meeting with the US Wizarding Consulate and there is a Full Moon in two weeks' time. We need to know if the muggles that were attacked have been in deed sired. If they haven't, they will surely die from the infection and even if they are, not everyone survives their first Chancing. The Ministry will need to decide how to cover up the deaths."

"When is our flight out?" Hermione spoke up. "We will need to make sure we have our passports in order."

"I already took the liberty of having them done for you." Director Lathrop snapped his fingers and four blue passport booklets appeared on the table. "You will find Muggle occupations listed, with false addresses and identities. It is only for your protection as this is could be a highly volatile situation and you four are not ordinary people in the wizarding world. We do not know if there are still rebels in the States so the less people who know who you are the better. You will be met at the airport by a Ministry Liaison and taken immediately to the US Ministry of Magic. There you will be debriefed fully on the situation and will be introduced to Brynn Palmer; a Werewolf Specialist. She will work alongside of you to help those who survive their first Changing. When the situation is under control, you are to report back to London."

"Sound reasonable." Said Hermione.

"I will notify you of your specific flight information in the coming days but be prepared to fly out on Friday. That will give you a few days to pack. You are dismissed."

Draco stood and followed his task team mate out of the conference room. "It will be nice to see the States again." He mentioned as the four of them entered into the common area.

"When were you in the States?" Harry inquired.

"Shortly after the Battle of Hogwarts. My family stayed with some distant family on my mother's side who lived in Virginia, before we settled into Hawthorne Manor on the outskirts of Paris." Draco answered. He mother had returned to their London home two years ago but Draco had insisted that he stay at Hawthorne a while longer, if only to keep his father company. Lucius refused to return to their home in England – said that would be the first place that loyalists would look, that he was safe in France where he could hide in peace. But then his mother got sick. So Draco made a deal with the Ministry and traded information for his father's safety so that he could return to his mother.

"Just one of the few places your family hid to keep from facing the reality of the crimes they committed." Ron spat.

"Ron…stop…" There was a warning in Hermione's quiet tone. "I mean…this isn't the place to have this conversation."

Draco watched the awkward interaction between the two of them. Hermione's hand twitched as she moved to touch his arm but quickly changed her mind and clasped her hands together behind her back. Ron took in a deep breath and turned his attention Hermione only for a moment before turned to face Harry. Draco didn't know what had happened while he had been away but it was clear that the three people who stood in front of him were not the same three people he had known in school. Hermione's temperament was softer, more cautious – at least when she spoke to Ron. At school, the brunette would not have hesitated to put her friend in his place, or even him for that matter, but now it was as if she couldn't decide if she wanted to speak or keep her thoughts to herself. Even at the meeting that morning she seemed too tired to argue back with him. This version of the witch he had loved to torment was almost a shadow of her former self.

"We have work to get done, Ron." Said Harry. "I got two memos on my desk before Lathrop called us in and they need to be attended to before we leave." Harry put his hand on Ron's shoulder and steered him towards their offices that sat next to one another on the far side of the common area.

Hermione lingered, only for a moment, before returning to her own office and closing the door behind her. Draco shook his head and headed towards the Exit. He was only there to provide information and that part of his job was done so it was time to return home to his mother. Her treatment would begin shortly and it was important for him to be there to support her – just as he did every day since he had returned home. He would be everything his father was not, so that when his mother passed she would know that she had raised a good man. Everyone else's opinion of him could go to Hell.

#

The Malfoy Manor was a smudge of black and grey against the brilliant autumn sky. It was a quarter past noon when Draco arrived home from the Ministry to oversee his mother's daily treatment. He found Narcissa in her chambers, a frail figure surrounded by plush covers and held up by pillows. Her long hair had lost all of its rich, dark color, and now was tied at the nape of her neck. Her pale face shadow at her cheek bones revealed the sickness that slowly forcing her body to waste away. Her daily blood transfusions were the only thing that gave her enough energy to get through each day. Eventually, Draco knew, he would have to stop the treatments. But that day was not today.

"Afternoon, Mother, how are you feeling today." Draco sat on the bed and took his mother's hand into his own.

"Draco, my son." Narcissa took in a deep breath. Even talking seemed to tire her. "How was your meeting today, at the Ministry?"

"Let's not talk of work, it is such a depressing subject." Said Draco.

Narcissa let out a breathy laugh. "That is all your father ever wanted to talk about. It is strange to not have that be a topic of discussion."

"I am not my father."

"No, you are not and for that I am grateful." Narcissa smiled and closed her eyes. "I am tired today Draco, more tired than I have been in the past."

"You haven't had your transfusion today. They will be here soon."

Narcissa opened her eyes and looked at Draco. Her eye use to be a piercing blue, ones that could silence Draco midsentence and make him regret every arguing against his mother when he was a teenager. One look could make a person's blood run cold and make them wish they had never crossed Narcissa Malfoy. Now her blue eyes had lost their fierceness, they had faded to a lighter color, and her tired expression only made Draco wish he could go back in time and appreciate the time he had when his mother was healthy, strong, and force to be reckon with. "Draco." She whispered. "I can only go through these treatments for so long before they stop having an effect on me."

"Don't say that." Draco dropped his mother's hand and stood. "You are just tired. They will be here soon and you will start feeling better. Maybe we can eat lunch out in the Garden today. I will fetch your sweater while you are having your transfusion."

There came a knock at the chamber door and two women entered, dressed in hospital scrubs with St. Mungo's emblem stitched on the left front pocket. "Good Afternoon, Mr. Malfoy, is Mrs. Malfoy ready for her treatment?" One of the nurses addressed Draco.

"Yes she is. You're late."

"Our apologies, Mr. Malfoy. It was quiet busy today at St. Mungo's. We had several people come in with bite marks and we had to assess them before we were released." The other nurse spoke to Draco as the first began to set up the blood transfusion station next to his mother's bed.

 _Bite marks?_ Draco's thought raced back to the _Daily Prophet's_ article that morning about the attacks in the States. Those had happened almost twenty four hours ago, which was not enough time to get from the States to London and still be nightfall. That meant that were multiple packs out there. He hadn't spoken to the ones that were brought in the morning, it wasn't his job to interrogate but he wasn't sure if Lathrop knew of this new information. He would have to send a letter to the Director before it got too much later. Maybe then he would keep his team here – Draco wasn't too keen on leaving his mother alone for an extended period of time.

"Mr. Malfoy, we will begin her treatments now."

"Right. I will go get your sweater, Mother, and then we can take our lunch out in the Gardens. I will inform the kitchen staff." Draco kissed his mother's forehead and took his leave from the room.

As he reached the door, Draco look a glance over her shoulder and watched as his mother winced in pain. The nurses tried their best to be gentle with the needle, but after a year of transfusions her skin was fragile and bruised easily. Draco looked away as the Nurses recovered her purple speckled arms and slipped out in the hallway. He would not let his mother see him cry. He would not be weak. He would not be his father.

-CJW


End file.
